Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Steve, Steve, It's Time to Leave. Thank You John Roby

This is brilliant. All part of a broad movement to dethrone the self-anointed King of Harperland.

Dan Gardiner has an excellent column in the Ottawa Citizen, about Harper's disregard for Canadian democracy and how our system works.

His attitude toward his unprecedented Contempt of Parliament was in itself contemptuous at best.

Underlying his comments, particularly in the first half of the debate, was a tone of disdain for Parliamentary "bickering." It was all so annoying to him. As head of government, he had important things to deal with. Why should he be bothered with this bickering? Give him a majority so he needn't bother. His sentiment was expressed most clearly when the Parliamentary contempt ruling was discussed, appropriately enough. It was mere politics, Harper insisted. The opposition was bickering, as usual, and they decided to push the matter and force an election. There was nothing more to it.

Of course, Harper did not mention that the Speaker of the House of Commons, a man who held his post with the support of the Conservatives, an officer universally respected, a scholar who knows as much about Parliamentary history and procedure as anyone in the country, had investigated the matter and found that Harper's government had violated Parliamentary privilege. In fact, if the Speaker had not so ruled, the whole matter would have never come to a vote.

If Harper finds us all so annoying, and Parliament so annoying, why should we punish him and send him back?